Journal:
I slept on
the table in the shelter last night which saved
putting up the tent and packing it wet in the
morning, but the wooden table was hard and I didn't
sleep as well, so I think it will be back in the
tent tonight.
I got up at 6:30am on a very cold morning
and was hiking by 8:30am. It was very overcast
and everything was wet, but it wasn't actually
raining. After a couple of hundred metres of
foot trail, I emerged on a forest road that showed
how close I had been to civilisation last night.
A kilometre or two away, on the other side of
Jounama Pondage, was the pretty alpine village of
Talbingo, dotted with autumnal colour.
However, close as it seemed, it was eight kilometres
by road to get there, so I wasn't that close as a
hiker.
The next 10km
was a detour from the official Hume & Hovell route
which was closed because of a landslip.
Warwick Hull, the trail coordinator, had told me in
Tumut that it was one of the prettiest sections,
following the route of a very old tourist road from
Talbingo to Buddong Falls and that work was underway
to reopen it. I'll have to come back.
The detour followed a little-used forest road that
climbed and followed a forested ridge. It was
quite pretty eucalypt forest and, apart from having
to negotiate my way around a number of huge puddles
bordered by blackberries, and a very steep and long
final climb, it was quite a pleasant walk. As
is my early morning habit I listened to various
current affairs programs on the radio as I walked.
The presenter of ABC Radio National's
"Life Matters" program between 9am and 10am each
morning, is Natasha Mitchell who, as the daughter of
friends at the time (since lost touch), was someone
we knew and occasionally babysat as a 10yo, 30 years
ago. I haven't seen her since, but she was pretty smart then and has gone
onto bigger and better things.
At the end of the detour, I reached the Buddong
Falls Picnic Area in light rain and feeling quite
cold because of the elevation I had gained in the
last 10km. I found the signage surrounding the
detour a little confusing but, with the help of my
GPS, worked out the most likely route which was
proved correct.
For the next
few kilometres, the route followed foot trails and
old firetrails that overlooked the continuous rocky
cascades of the rushing Buddong Creek in the
forested valley below to reach Buddong Hut.
The Hut looked the same vintage as many of the
cattleman's huts on the alpine High Plains, but was
in poor repair, probably because it was accessible
by forest road. There had been goldmining in
the area many years ago and that may have led to the
building of the hut.
Despite the cold (now around 1200m altitude) and
occasional showers, I found the next 10km of trail
some of the most attractive so far. It was a
well-marked
foot-trail most of the way crossing a high alpine
plateau populated with snow gums and a tussocky
undergrowth. It was easy walking and evidence
of brumbies (wild horses) was abundant in large
piles along the track. Probably one of the
reasons it was well-worn. I didn't see any
brumbies, but imagined I occasionally heard the
sound of hooves or a distant snort. There were
some fresh tracks, so they were definitely around.
I kept moving briskly to generate some warmth as I
walked and toyed with the idea of stopping and
adding some layers, but survived OK.
Soon after
4pm I emerged on the shore of the very pretty
Paddy's River Dam, a beautiful alpine lake, and
followed its shoreline around to the Campsite.
I quickly set up camp, had a wash, and cooked some
dinner wearing pretty much all of the clothing I'm
carrying. After dinner I updated my diary and
prepared for what is going to be a very cold night.
I am booked into a motel in Tumbarumba tomorrow
night but have a longish day (28km) before I reach
the road down which I'll have to find a ride to
town.